Dormroom Darkroom:)

Bobbo

Bobbo

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I'm not taking a darkroom class next semester, so I can't use the one at school. Unfortunatly I was bitten by the evil of Tri-X last semester and I don't want to lay my rangefinder by the wayside, so I still want to shoot. It costs way too much to send that stuff out to get it done, so I had a silly idea last night.

Get a new tank and reel, two opaque gallon jugs, a gallon packet of D-76 and one of fixer, a changing bag, and a clothesline and just do it in my dorm room. I'd measure the temperture of the jugs (that will live in my closet next to my dish soap) and ajust my times accordingly. I could do it in the sink:) To save more money, I can use water for stop bath...it works just fine when I did it at school last semester. I rig up something in my closet to dry the film. I then pick up a film scanner and do my photos on my computer...that way I save on paper and I can post them, too:) Any enlargments I really need to do I can email out to a lab or just bribe somebody at the school darkroom:D.

I think that's a good idea, what do y'all think?

Have a nice day,
Bob Clark
 
Its basically what I do.

I have a tank, I use diafine (no need to worry about times or temps), and some fixer. I use tap water for everything. I dry my film by first shaking most of the water off and then attaching those heavy duty paper clips to the bottom and hanging them in my closet using some darts. I also got a good deal on a Dual Scan 3 ($75). It works like a charm, dont forget to buy a bulk loader too! Also, get some silk gloves for the changing bag, I have gotten some ugly fingerprints otherways.
 
If you use one-shot chemicals you can do away with those large jugs of chemicals. I do my film processing in the bathroom (due to lack of space for a proper darkroom) and then scan the negs.
The pic is my entire darkroom (apart from the changing bag) and it fits nicely beside my computer desk.

Peter
 
Sounds like my set up at home. I recommend buying a $1.50 funnel at Home Depot at least. It will save your chems. I made my own graduated cylander out of recycles bottles. Another cheep way to go is to buy bottled water in sturdy jugs. You can stir the chems into the water and use the water jugs instead or ordering jugs. I am lucky in that my college has a photo club with full darkroom. You might want to check and see if there is a campus club you can join to get yourself into the darkroom.
 
Pocket darkroom.

Pocket darkroom.

Use HC-110 or Rodinal concentrate developers. No need to store large jugs. Mix up a quart of fixer and your'e good to go.
 
I too use the school darkroom. But down here, once you establish that you know how to use it (or take a class) you can get a pass for any subsequent semesters also. I believe you don't need to be in school at all to do that. Are you sure outsiders can't use your school's darkroom for a fee?
 
I probably could find a darkroom to use, but doing it at home is simple and convenient. I once again recommend Diafine, its the stress free way to develop your own negatives.
 
Wilbur Hall used to have unused darkroom facilities--behind the blackboard in the graphic design classroom. GD has moved to Lanigan since I was there, so I dunno who you'd have to charm to get access. Or maybe they finally cleared all that stuff out?

I find that 500ml or pint bottles works better than the gallon jugs for adjusting their temperature in the bottle. it's a little bit less pouring and sloshing. Diafine is a good match for Tri-X and for scanning.
 
derevaun said:
Wilbur Hall used to have unused darkroom facilities--behind the blackboard in the graphic design classroom. GD has moved to Lanigan since I was there, so I dunno who you'd have to charm to get access. Or maybe they finally cleared all that stuff out?

I find that 500ml or pint bottles works better than the gallon jugs for adjusting their temperature in the bottle. it's a little bit less pouring and sloshing. Diafine is a good match for Tri-X and for scanning.
Click to expand...

Wow, another Laker...small world:)

Right now Wilbur is under renovation and asbestos abatement. The only facilities I know of are in Tyler Hall (the art building) and after a... philisophical disagreement... I'm kinda afraid to show my face in there:D.

Thank you all for your replies... I'm glad I don't have to give up my film cameras because I don't have access to the school darkrooms.

Have a nice night,
Bob Clark
 
HC-110 behaves very much like D-76, without the storage hassles. Water is a fine stop bath. Just make sure there isn't a sudden temperature change with it. In fact, if the closet-stored fix is a little warm or a little cold, you could use a water stop-bath that's half between the fix temp and the ideal development temp of 68/20.

A blow-dryer will dry film quickly (there are different schools of thought here -- my school is that if you dry the film quickly and get it into sleeves, then it's less exposed to dust than hanging it to air-dry for a long time in a closet). Back in my makeshift darkroom days (motel rooms while on road assignments for a newspaper) Joy dishsoap made a great wetting agent instead of photo-flo. Then I used tong squeegie (a little like a scissors), one single "squeege" the length of the film, and all the excess water was off -- no streaks, no spots. Only squeege once, otherwise you could scratch the film.
 
how does one use HC-110? I have heard a little about it, but I've never had a chance to use it.

Thank you,
Bob Clark
 
In the bottle, HC-110 is a concentrated goop. You can mix various dilutions, which ought to be in the instructions. Classic dilution is 1:31, which, I think, is where it's close to D-76. Probably a little more contrast. Also easy to push with. It's a one-use developer, so just pour it out when finished. You do need a very small test-tube sized measuring cup to do it accurately (same with Rodinol, which uses 1:50 dilutions). I can recall a couple times not being able to find a small measuring thingy, so I used half a film cannister of HC-110, then measured 15 film cannisters of water. Rodinol tends to be a lot grainier than HC-110 with Kodak films.
 
Thanks Vince. It sounds like HC-110 was designed for me... no storing (other than the normal bottle), easy to push with, good contrast with little grain, and I can measure it in film canisters:D. Mixed with a fixer, I should be fine for the semester.

Just one question: looking under Solution B (1:31) on the J-24 (HC-110) PDF from Kodak, there are three variations for Tri-X 400. Which one do I use?

Thanks,
Bob Clark
 
Kodak TX times

Kodak TX times

Kodak's times on their recent sheets are pretty far off. At 68deg anywhere from 6 min to 7 min for 1:31 dilution.
 
It's been more than 10 years since I mucked around in the wet stuff, and Kodak appears to have changed its film formulae in the meantime (and I haven't developed Tri-X in probably 15 years, so it wouldn't have been new Tri-X). I just did a quick online search, and, wading through all the opinions, it looks like SteveW's 6-7 minutes is as good a starting point as any. I'd shoot a couple test rolls and use six minutes as a starting time, then take it from there.
 
Also, I think I was mistaken when I said Kodak films tend to be grainy using Rodinal. If memory serves correct, it's Ilford HP-5 that doesn't do well with Rodinal. If HC-110 is too fussy with the new Tri-X emulsions, Rodinal is a classic -- very sharp. Yes, you can see the grain in the film, but, you know, it's film, not a painting. It's also cool to watch Rodinal turn purple when you're finished. Kind of lets you know a chemical reaction has taken place.
 
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